


Mote it Be

by chocobobutt



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, Magic AU, Witchcraft AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-18 00:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16106942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocobobutt/pseuds/chocobobutt
Summary: Strifehart week 2018Day 2: Succession of witchescloud is a witch who just opened a potions shop (magic is common) and on his weekly trip to pick herbs he meets a hunter of magical creatures hurt in the woods, healing him was easy but both soon learn cloud might have used the wrong type of healing spell.Thank you TheQualityrunaway for being my beta <3





	Mote it Be

**Author's Note:**

> Check out this artwork that goes with the story!  
> http://pathtothedawn.tumblr.com/post/178456054381/day-2-succession-of-witches-for-context-check

Star of love, burn so bright  
Aid me in my spell tonight  
Unite my true love to me  
As I will it, so mote it be

Crunches of partially dry autumn leaves scattered across the ground became a cacophony of noise against the quiet forest. A distant humming began as the lone traveler in the woods went around looking by tree stumps and under bushels of leaves for herbs. Owning a potions shop was a common profession for most witches in this day, but this witch wanted the freshest ingredients for his shop, and those were found only in the forests. It was often the blonde witch would go out in the early mornings when dew or frost still littered the ground. Today was no different as once again the blonde witch had on his black boots that definitely didn’t seem witchy at all. Due to the Autumn weather he kept an over-sized hoodie on as well, black as the rest of his clothing. The only article of clothing on him with even a little color was his woven basket with its light blue lining to keep all the herbs he collected safe. 

The sky above was still in the early dawn stages; yellows and oranges just peeking over the hills to clash with the deep midnight blues of the night. It was a time when most magical creatures were preparing to sleep after another night of mischief, and thus one of the safer times to be alone in the woods for most. This night had been particularly cruel to one human, a hunter of creatures. Many hunters found well-paying jobs in small towns and cities protecting the inhabitants from all ill-willed creatures. There were wicked fairies and good ones, trolls who traded and trolls who kidnapped. All magical creatures had temperaments of their own and while some worked well with humans, others aimed to hurt. Thus came the hunters. It was never an easy job but there had been schools for those who showed promise. There was never the guarantee of coming back alive and this particular hunter had scars to show, a rather large one across his face.

The witch was on his way back, heading to a patch of mushrooms he frequented when a boot that definitely wasn’t supposed to be there had him tripping and falling into a very soft and mildly cold body. “Ooof!” The witch called as he quickly tried to get up and recover any fallen herbs. The moment his blue eyes narrowed in on who and what he had fallen on, he quickly checked for a pulse and found a faint one. “Crap, crap, crap!” Forgetting the basket and herbs for the more dire task at hand, the witch looked for any wounds. He tried to pull at any parts of the others clothes without ripping to tell if there was any blood. When the stranger was deemed clean, the witch took out his little travel spell book from his pocket and quickly flipped to whatever healing spell he could find. His eyes darted from page to page as he tried to read them as quickly as the pages flipped, landing on an older blurred spell. “Healing L Spell? Light spell maybe? Fuck I don’t know this one well...” A shiver from the stranger below him had him throwing whatever caution he had to the wind as he read the spell over and quickly drew a protection circle by the top of the other’s darker hair.

“Healing thoughts sent in flight, bring the brightest of blessings this very night. Send this healing white light from above, surround my friend now in healing love.”

As the words left his lips, the stranger glowed a pale, almost pink, tone for a moment before icy eyes opens and he started to cough. It wasn’t until the witch looked down and noticed that he was still sitting on the stranger and the cause of his now coughing state that the got off and sat to the side of him. “Are you alright? What happened? You were nearly dead!”

The stranger coughed once more, clearly trying to gather his surroundings when his eyes focused on the witch. He heard him talking and clearly freaking out a little most likely from him suddenly waking but regardless of how much he wanted to just tell him to shut up and explain things, his body just reacted on its own and he pulled the witch in for a kiss.

Almost as quick as their lips met, did the witch punch the stranger in the face. “I’m so sorry but what the hell? I know I saved you but you don’t just go kissing people!”

The punch had hit harder then the stranger thought such a small witch could throw and he’d be damned if he didn’t have a bruise for awhile now. Explaining the bruise was going to be annoying when he got home but the more pressing matter was why he had just kissed a stranger. He had never even wanted to kiss another before. “.....” Afraid of his own body now, the stranger tried after a deep breath to say anything but was cut off from the other.

“Just...let’s get you out of here alright? I’m Cloud, what’s your name?”

“....” For a moment the stranger didn’t answer. It wasn’t until his icy eyes looked away from Cloud’s that he would reply. “...Squall.”

“Huh, I guess the weatherman did forecast it being rather Cloud-y with a chance of Squalls today.” The blonde joked, cracking a slightly sheepish smile.

The puns were just so bad that Squall had to look back at the other and with a gloved hand over his mouth he chuckled and tried to ignore the prickling feeling coming from his heart at that joke. 

“I don’t live too far away. If you can walk I’ll lead you there. I have some potions I can maybe use to heal you up better.” With that, Cloud stood up and brushed his black clothing free of any dirt before extending his hand to the other.

Squall was hesitant to take it still but this Cloud really did seem like he wanted to help. 

“...Thank you…” He managed to say as he stood, ignoring the hand for now. Once standing it seemed the world went upside down as his head spiraled and he had to grasp onto Cloud to keep himself upright. 

“Whoa! Okay hold on don’t fall. I think you got up too fast, man you must have really been out long.” His arms wrapped around Squall to help him stand, making sure most of the weight was put onto him and it seemed to help. “Better?”

“Mhm…” The moment Cloud touched him to help him stand, Squall lost himself again. He wasn’t as dizzy anymore and with Cloud this close to him he could smell him. He smelled sweet, spicy, with undertones of incense and a bit of mint. It was familiar and inviting yet foreign at the same time, the scent of magic. He liked it and leaned into Cloud a bit more, resting his head on the shorter man’s shoulder.

Cloud was no mind reader; that was Aerith’s forte, but he knew something wasn’t right with his new travelling companion. Not knowing the other well enough, he wasn’t sure how much was normal and how much wasn’t. For all Cloud knew the man was normally very touchy with others, but something was telling him that wasn’t the case. They needed to get back home so he could research exactly what he had done to the other. “...Right...well let’s head back.”

The travel back had been going well until Cloud had almost tripped over a leaf covered root. It was after that minor inconvenience that Squall had turned the tables and carried Cloud instead. When Cloud had asked why the only response he received was a strained, ‘I don’t know.’ Both men were clearly uncomfortable after that but Cloud didn’t stop him, he had a feeling he couldn’t even if he tried and now was pretty sure what kind of spell he had used on Squall.

“Well here we are….you can put me down now Squall.” The house they came up to was on the farther end of the town, small on the outside with it’s old stone exterior covered in moss. When Squall put him down Cloud quickly went to his wooden door and unlocked it, entering the home as lights flickered on. The inside was bigger than the outside perceived and more modern as well. The outside was a typical witches dwelling but the inside was decorated in a modern fashion in grey and black tones with only some hints of colors here and there. Cloud quickly went from the entrance which had his small living and dining room/kitchen and to a back room with an oddly ornate door. He was only away a few moments, enough time for Squall to look around at the place. He kind of enjoyed the minimalist approach himself though a tad but more of color would have made this place more homey. He thought witches enjoyed rustic over modern anyway.

“Found it!” Cloud announced, walking back into the front area with a large old tome in his hand. “As I suspected….you um...well you are healed but…” There was hesitation in his voice and those cyan blue eyes looked into icy blues. 

Squall could tell Cloud was nervous to say and that only made him sigh“...It’s a love spell isn’t it?” When he saw Cloud nod his head he moved closer and hugged him tight. “It’s okay...I can’t be mad at you.” While his voice sounded sweet and genuinely smitten, his words weren’t. “I physically can’t be.” 

Cloud cleared his throat and pushed Squall away, unused to any kind of physical touch with anyone let alone a stranger. “It shouldn’t last too long. I might make it worse if I try to counter it so waiting for it to wear off might be best. I...I have an extra bed if you want to wait it out here and I’ll do my own thing so there isn’t anything weird happening.”

“Fine.” Short answers were going to be Squall’s new best friend until the spell wore off. He didn’t trust himself to say anything overly affectionate since every time he looked at Cloud’s face he was sure his own was red. The blonde was incredibly cute with his big blue eyes that held such emotion in them while the rest of his expression was stoic, and his slightly rounded face was even the more cute with that light dusting of freckles on him. Squall wondered for a brief moment if there were freckles ALL over Cloud but he quickly shook his head at that thought, the spell was really affecting him it seemed. “Can I rest?” 

“Rest? Oh, ugh, yeah, go right ahead. I’m not the best cook but I’ll leave out some food for you if you want it later.” The guest room Cloud took him too seemed misplaced in this home, it was so rustic with its wood floors and chocobo print wallpaper that Squall thought he was imagining it. The room was small with just a twin sized bed, end table and chest of holding for any clothes the guest would bring. “Sweet dreams then?”

‘This is so tacky…’ “Thanks sweetie.” Squall blurted out, completely the opposite of what he had planned to say and silence surrounded the two men for a moment. Cloud was clearly uncomfortable and so was Squall so he just went inside and closed the door to separate them. Cloud’s magical scent wasn’t too strong in this room so once the door was closed he felt more like himself and went to bed, hoping to maybe wake up to the spell over so he could go home.

Squall was not so lucky.

The spell didn’t break when he woke up from a nap, nor did it break the next day, or the day after that. It seemed to get worse as time went on in fact, causing Squall to say sweet nothings at Cloud and to grab and hold him any chance he could. Cloud was incredibly wary of it at first, he’d never really been a people person unless he had to make some sales nor was he experienced in ever having a relationship. The gentle touches weren’t welcomed, at least until Squall started taking over cooking. The sweet words and touches were easy enough to write off as Squall being cursed, but the other making such delicious meals wasn’t. Cloud wasn’t the best cook; he knew that, but Squall was in a league of his own. He started looking forward to waking up early just so he could have fresh bacon, not cold like he had the day before due to his lazy ass not wanting to wake up. It was different to have someone else constantly in his life. Cloud had never felt he was lonely before, but the more time he spent with Squall the more he started to get used to having a roommate, a friend.

Squall had to admit that staying at Cloud’s until the spell wore off wasn’t the worst thing ever. The blonde didn’t bother him with unnecessary things and gave him space which was appreciated. The spell did have him following Cloud most of the time around the home and despite the one guest room, the only other room that was odd was Cloud’s workshop. It was behind that rather ornate door he had seen his first day there and when he entered … the place was an absolute disaster. Books were piled high on top of each other in mounds in the corners as herbs of all kinds hung around to be dried. The smell of so many spices and herbs was assaulting on his nose at first, but he grew used to it. He had wanted to organize the room but when Cloud worked it didn’t seem as chaotic anymore. The blonde went almost in a trance like state, easily moving through the mess to get whatever he needed. It was almost like a dance the way he’d make his spells and the more times Squall watched, the less he was sure if it was the spell or his own volition that made him follow Cloud every day into the workroom to watch. 

The curse did eventually break. Cloud woke up before Squall, a good six week after the initial curse. He had been worried and for a moment thought Squall was cured and left in the dead of the night. When he went to check his room he saw the other was still there and sleeping. He’d looked so peaceful there, brunette locks framing his face like a mane. “Cute…” Cloud had never really had others around him, his mother was a witch and had taught him everything he knew, but she died a few years back. There were some in his life who visited in passing like Aerith, Tifa and Zack but they all had busy lives away. Squall was the first person Cloud had really allowed into his home, even if it was only because of a curse. In this moment however, Cloud was hoping the curse wouldn’t end. The longer he stayed around Squall and opened himself up, the more he wanted him to stay. At first the thought was scary but now looking at him like this, all Cloud wanted to do was keep him with him. Somehow he was falling in love with Squall.

“Morning…” Squall’s voice broke Cloud’s thoughts and he quickly got up and off the bed. “Did you need something, Cloud?” The brunette looked at him confused, it wasn’t that he didn’t mind seeing Cloud first thing in the morning but today something seemed off. He felt that now familiar pitter patter of his heart just by looking at Cloud but his body wasn’t reacting to it. He wasn’t throwing himself over the other like the past days. Realization hit him hard and he quickly got out of bed and went to Cloud, grabbing his arm. He did nothing more but hold him, no pulling in for a hug or trying to kiss him. “Cloud...I think...I think the curse is off!”

Cloud’s face paled at those words. He didn’t want to accept it, he didn’t want to lie either. The moment Squall had called him ‘Cloud’ and not babe, honey, sweetie, honey bun or any other term of endearment Cloud knew the curse was lifted. ‘Y-yea...it looks like it is.”

“I can finally leave and go home now!” Squall was already getting dressed in the room, putting on the hunter’s gear that Cloud had since mended and enchanted. “Not that there is much to go home to but I’m sure they missed me.” In the middle of lacing his boots up Squall paused, looking over at Cloud and saw nothing but sadness from the other. “I..mean..not that this wasn’t kinda nice. Thank you for taking care of me Cloud.”

“It was nothing, really.” It was hard to breathe, hard to even look at Squall. That loving look he got used to seeing was gone. They weren’t lovers, they were just acquaintances now. “I..um…” He couldn’t think of anything to say, he felt like the room was spinning. “I’ll make you a lunch to take with you.” Before Squall could even protest, Cloud darted out of the room.

“Cloud…” Yes Squall was very happy he wasn’t cursed anymore but seeing Cloud like that wasn’t what he wanted either. Curse or not he still seemed to like the other man and truthfully he didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to overstay his welcome either. He had friends and a sort of family back home, but he was a loner. It wasn’t the first time he’d been away for days on end and doubted anyone thought him missing at all. At least from Cloud’s reaction, it seemed someone would miss him. He just hoped he wasn’t misinterpreting it. Gathering the remainder of his things, he went to the front room where Cloud was still putting a lunch together for him. For once he felt the urge to hug him, not because of a curse but because he genuinely wanted to … but he held back.

“Thanks for everything again…”

“Oh it’s no problem at all.” Cloud was faking a smile as he quickly turned to Squall and then back to the sandwich he was preparing. “Annnnd done!” He turned and quickly shoved the bag into Squall’s arms before holding his hand out. “It was a pleasure meeting you Squall.”

“I..um..yeah….”Squall wasn’t so sure on Cloud missing him now. He shifted the weight of the bag in his arms as he took Cloud’s hand and shook. Icy blues met cyan and Squall couldn’t seem to let go of him. His own smile faltered and still holding onto Cloud’s hand he looked at the door and then back to Cloud. “I...um...on second thought I’m not sure I can leave yet.”

“W-what? Did you forget something?” Cloud couldn’t deny how his heart jumped at the thought of Squall staying, but he had said he couldn’t leave yet, not that he wouldn’t.

“I…” Squall sighed, letting go of him. ‘Why is this so hard? Just say you want to stay with him.’ His grip on the bag tightened and the longer he stayed in Cloud’s home the more he felt he needed air. He couldn’t seem to say the words he wanted to most, was it maybe a side effect of the spell?

Either way he bolted to the door and went as far as the small fence around Cloud’s home, leaning on it for a bit. He heard Cloud follow behind him, calling for him and when he turned Cloud was right there and worried. “I don’t want to leave.” He finally blurted.

It took a moment but Cloud finally replied, taking the lunch from him and hugging him tight. “I don’t want you to leave either.”

Squall hugged him back just as tightly and smiled. “Just one condition, no more magic on me okay?”

Cloud smiled, pulling away from that warm embrace for a moment to gaze at him. “Deal”


End file.
